Google's Problems in China

Case Studies | Case Study in Business, Management, Operations, Strategy, Case Study

ICMR HOME | Case Studies Collection

Case Details:

Case Code : BENV001
Case Length : 13 Pages
Period : 2000-2006
Pub Date : 2006
Teaching Note : Available
Organization : Google China
Industry : Internet Search Engines
Countries : China

To download Google's Problems in China case study (Case Code: BENV001) click on the button below, and select the case from the list of available cases:

Price:

For delivery in electronic format: Rs. 300;
For delivery through courier (within India): Rs. 300 + Rs. 25 for Shipping & Handling Charges

» Business Environment Case Studies
» Case Studies Collection
» ICMR Home
» Business Environment Short Case Studies
» View Detailed Pricing Info
» How To Order This Case
» Business Case Studies
» Case Studies by Area
» Case Studies by Industry
» Case Studies by Company

Please note:

This case study was compiled from published sources, and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion. It is not intended to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. Nor is it a primary information source.

<< Previous

"Our launch of google.cn, though filtered, is a necessary first step toward achieving a productive presence in a rapidly changing country that will be one of the world's most important and dynamic for decades to come. To some people, a hard compromise may not feel as satisfying as a withdrawal on principle, but we believe it's the best way to work toward the results we all desire."¹

- Andrew McLaughlin, Senior Policy Counsel, Google.com in 2006.

"I'm sure Google justifies this by saying it's just a couple of search words that people can't get to, but it's very difficult for Google to do what they just did and avoid the slippery slope. The next thing they'll do is ask them to tell them who is searching for 'Taiwan' or 'independence' or 'human rights.' And then it's going to find itself in the position of turning over the names of dissidents or simply of inquisitive individuals, for imprisonment."²

- Kenneth Roth, Executive Director, Human Rights Watch³ in 2006.

Google Meets 'The Great Firewall'

On January 25, 2006, the US based Google Inc. (Google), the world's largest search engine, announced that it was ready to censor the content that it made available in China. Google's Chinese website www.google.cn would be censored by the company itself on the basis of the instructions of the government. Before this, the government agencies in China used to censor the content on Google's site that violated the regulations (Refer Exhibit I for regulations imposed by the Chinese government on the Internet in China). The topics that were sensitive for the Chinese government included Tiananmen Square, Tibet, the Dalai Lama, Taiwan independence, human rights and the Falun Gong spiritual movement.

After censorship, users searching for 'Falun Gong spiritual movement', for example, would be directed to sites and articles condemning the movement; sites that supported the movement were omitted from the search (Refer Exhibit II for a few of the forbidden searches in China).

Google was of the view that after censoring its content, the company's website would become easily accessible in China. The company announced, "In order to operate from China, we have removed some content from the search results available on Google.cn, in response to local law, regulation or policy."⁴ Google also announced that users would be informed whenever access was restricted.

A survey carried out by China Internet Network Information Center⁵ in August 2005 revealed that Google was losing market share to its competitor Baidu.com, which had emerged as the leading search engine in China.

Google's Problems in China - Next Page>>

International Business and International Marketing
Textbooks Collection

International Business and International Marketing
Workbooks Collection

Case Studies in International Marketing

Case Study Volumes Collection

1] "Google in China,"www.googleblog.blogspot.com, January 27, 2006.

2] "Google Founder Defends China Portal,"Fortune, January 25, 2006.

3] Human Rights Watch is a US-based independent, non-governmental organization which investigates reports and seeks to curb human rights viloations across the world. Human Rights Watch researchers conduct fact-finding investigations into human rights abuses by governments and corporates in all regions of the world. They visit the site of abuses to interview victims, witnesses and others.

4] "Google to Censor Itself in China,"www.edition.cnn.com, January 26, 2006.

5] China Internet Network Information Center operates under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and carries out services like domain name registry, IP address allocation, catalogue database services, technical research on internet addressing, internet survey and international liaison.